a farmers market gem

Ask me how I feel about life in Southern California most days, and I'll grumble about urban sprawl, traffic, and the fact that something like 18% of the residents of my county can afford the median-priced home. Don't get me started.

But oh, how I love the fact that I can go to a farmers market in February and experience citrus season in all its glory. Grapefruit, pummelos, Meyer lemons (they're amazing -- sweeter, with an almost floral scent; you don't often find them in grocery stores because they're too delicate), blood oranges, tangerines, all amazing. I'd never experienced anything but supermarket citrus before I moved here.

But yesterday I found something I'd truly never had before: the cherimoya. It tastes like sort of an amalgam of all the good tropical fruits: banana, mango, coconut, pineapple, etc. It looks like this:

And inside, it has sort of a pear-like texture with big black seeds:

Unfortunately, I cut into this one too early. It's not ripe at all. Such is the danger of buying a fruit you know nothing about. Too bad I didn't just Google it first. Oh well -- I won't make the same mistake with the other one I bought, and according to this, they'll be in season in California until May.